An industry has been developed around the concept of motivation. Consultants have long been advising people how to motivate themselves and others through books, tapes, lectures, and tools. Some of these consultants have developed companies, such as Stephen Covey of Franklin-Covey Co. and Patricia McDade of Consulting Alliance, that explain to individuals and organizations how to motivate for positive results.
However, each type of person or organization requires different types of motivational tools to achieve desired goals. Businesses and other adult organizations may focus on the goals of the organization and apply motivational techniques and tools to motivate people within the organization to achieve those goals. Adults, in terms of their personal life, may utilize tools to encourage improved financial standing, a more well-rounded lifestyle, better relationships, increased communication skills for example. Some of the tools have common characteristics, such as goal setting, evaluation of motivations to perform actions, reward systems for achievement of goals, and the like.
The motivation of children, or kids, uses many of the common characteristics of motivation of adults. However one must keep in mind that kids do not in general comprehend, and therefore are not motivated by, the same motivational tools as are adults. Kids are more motivated by immediate gratification than mature adults. Kids may not be as motivated by what is for the common good or what is for the long range good.
A successful method of choosing an appropriate motivator, whether it be for kids or adults, is to observe how the person to be motivated approaches life. An adult who approaches life in the context of money and is interested in financial gains is motivated when the motivational tools incorporate monetary goals and rewards. According to Dr. Kim Bergman, xe2x80x9cPlay is the language of kids,xe2x80x9d and therefore kids approach life in the context of play. As a result, motivators that incorporate playfulness and fun have an increased chance of success
Universally, parents and other caretakers of kids are interested in ensuring kids eat healthy foods. Rare is the child that is motivated alone by a statement such as xe2x80x9ceat thisxe2x80x94it is good for you.xe2x80x9d The prior art has examples of motivators that are used to incorporate play into children eating, such as reward systems for kids that eat daily from each of the major food groups.
A product from OSCAR MEYER know as LUNCHABLES incorporates playful motivators to the children eating the food components in the product by having the children prepare a snack from the different components. Children perceive their involvement with the snack preparation process as playful, and therefore it motivates them to eat the food components. However, the container that holds the food components is boxy and very stark and, therefore, does not motivate children through the incorporation of playfulness. Yogurt has also been sold in this fashion, with the same problem about the container having a relative low appearance and perception of playfulness.
Therefore, a need exists for even more motivators that incorporate playfulness into having kids eat healthy, nutritious foods.
In addition to motivating children to eat what is good for them, they also need to be encouraged to do certain things that is either good for them as individuals or good for the community. Consequently, in certain situations, for example, they need to get dressed, eat, go to bed, help out, or simply be quit or stop what they are doing and do something else like go to the dentist. In such situations food is not an issue. Another item besides foods may, however, be used to establish a play pattern that will motivate them to engage in the desired activity.
This invention has several features that are set forth in the CLAIMS. These features provide this invention with its many desirable attributes. After reading the following section entitled xe2x80x9cDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits, which include, but are not limited to, convenience of use and, most importantly, encouraging children to do what is good for them through the power of fun.
Broadly, this invention is a method of motivating a child to want to do what is beneficial. It includes the steps of
(a) providing an item which the child interacts with to establish a play pattern that is fun for the child, and
(b) packaging the item in a manner that is convenient to use and wherein the packaging assists in establishing the play pattern.
In some embodiments the item is a plurality of cards. This invention also includes child friendly products including these items.
In the embodiments where the item is a plurality of cards, the cards are assembled into a deck and each card has one face with a common imprint (the backside) and an opposite face imprinted with instructions (front side) for a play activity in which the child will engage. With the cards all having the front side positioned so the child can not see the activity imprinted on the cards, the child selects a card. The instructions typically require the parent or other care taker of the child to interact with the child by also engaging in the activity imprinted on the card selected by the child. There is a different activity imprinted on each card in the deck, and the cards are organized into groups that correspond to activities especially suited to certain situations. Preferably, the different groups of cards are marked with indicia indicating the situation in which a selected card group is to be used. The indicia may be one or more words or a color code. Typical situations include getting dressed, coming and going, mealtime, bedtime, helping out, and bath time. One group of cards may be designed for an active situation and another group of cards is designed for a situation where the child is quit.